How many Americans saw the headline: "US drone strike kills 11 in Yemen wedding party", had their eyes glaze over and quickly turn to the funny pages? Mine didn't and I couldn't. Reading in horror of what is becoming an all to familiar event, an American drone unleashed its bomb on a wedding party convoy, not an al Qaeda convoy as US military suspected. To put names on the pile of flesh and blood we created they are:

These victims, just like us, had mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, sons, daughters; now all denied their loved ones due to a murderous mistake that will never be punished. Last May, President Obama told the National Defense University, “Before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured — the highest standard we can set.” On September 2, 2012, twelve Yemenis civilian children were killed when a drone “missed” its target car carrying a suspected al Qaeda member. On May 15, 2012, fourteen civilians, including a pregnant woman, were killed in a drone strike in a Yemen residential district. On March 9, 2012, a US drone strike in the al-Baydah province killed 34 individuals. There are dozens, maybe hundreds more incidents of this senseless slaughter of innocents. Besides being the most heinous of crimes, these acts breed endless hatred of America and recruit many more extremists wishing to do us harm than they possibly kill.

The next time you attend a wedding party, or any event consisting of more than a dozens folks, be thankful you are not in Yemen or Pakistan or Afghanistan or Somalia where American drones roam unmolested and reign death down on any large gathering they believe might include bad guys deserving summary execution. And when you hear that the chant: "U.S.A. Number 1", it may very well refer to the killing of innocents.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

DuPage County,
Senator Elizabeth Warren is offering a new bill that prohibits employers from looking at credit scores when hiring.Big financial institutions often abuse consumers and wrongly downgrade our credit.
Also, people looking for jobs shouldn't get penalized for losing their home in the 2008 Wall Street collapse. We should be helping them succeed.Sign our petition showing Warren's colleagues that the public supports her bill -- and wants them to support it too.
When employers use credit scores in hiring, they often reject very qualified people. This practice disproportionately hurts minorities and the working poor, and keeps people unemployed.
Our nation should want these people getting back to work, not penalizing them.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeanne Sheehan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) all understand this and have signed onto Warren's new bill.Can you join us in urging the rest of Warren's colleagues to support her bill, and help people go back to work? Click here.
We'll be elevating local voices across the country so members of Congress and media hear our message. If you have a personal story about being hurt by credit scores, you can tell us on the link.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Caitlin Mauk, PCCC Organizer

P.S. The (truly) progressive think tank, Demos, has been advancing this idea for a long time. After signing the petition, you can give them and Warren kudos on Twitter.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

DuPage Dems,Let's be real: the Obamacare roll-out was rough. The website was down and right-wing pundits were having a field day. Tea Party members of Congress actually forced a government shutdown to derail it. But now, we've turned a corner.

The Tea Party threw everything they had at stopping the Affordable Care Act, but it hasn't worked. And now that the website is up and running, nationally over 1 million people have enrolled. [1]This scares the pants off right-wing Republicans because it's become clear they're on the wrong side of history. Rather than expand healthcare coverage to families who need it, Tea Party Republicans chose instead to play politics, hoping to sabotage the plan altogether and score a win over President Obama. But their attempts to repeal Obamacare failed. And when they caused a government shutdown, it put the economy in jeopardy and alienated voters -- even Republican voters.

And here's one more reason Republicans are trembling over Obamacare: one of the lesser known aspects of the law is that it allows states to go above and beyond. Vermont is already moving toward implementing a single-payer Medicare-for-All style system that would cut insurance CEOs out altogether.

So here's our plan: we're going to continue working to sign folks up for Obamacare so that families have access to the healthcare coverage they deserve. Then, we're going to fight to make the system even better. Can you help us to keep up the good work?

Monday, December 16, 2013

Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth invites women in the 8th District to a panel discussion and networking event in collaboration with the Small Business Administration and hosted by the Village of Roselle. This is an opportunity to meet other successful businesswomen throughout the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and access resources for building your own business. When women succeed, America succeeds – and we are proud to bring the women of the 8th District together. A light breakfast and coffee will be served.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

The December 23rd deadline will be here sooner than you think, but there's still plenty of time to make sure you're covered starting on January 1st.

You probably have a million and one things on your plate right now -- so just remember that getting health insurance can be done in three simple steps: Apply, shop for, and buy the plan that's right for you.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

I have just learned that our dear friend Tinker Harvey passed away this morning. When I visited her on Friday, I thought she would be around quite a while longer. She was very engaged in the conversation and interested in the photos that Chris brought for her to look at.

Kathryn “Tinker” Harvey, a life-long Democrat, has been committed to the Democratic Party in DuPage County for over 40 years. Along with other dedicated individuals, she has served the Democratic Party admirably, as a trailblazer, party-builder, and defender of the rights of Democratic voters.

Her accomplishments as a Democrat in DuPage County include:

Precinct Committeeman for over 40 years

Vice Chair of the Downers Grove Township Democratic Organization

Chair of the Downers Grove Township Democratic Organization

Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of DuPage County

Chair of the Democratic Party of DuPage County

Member of the Board for Illinois Democratic Women

Founding Member and Senior Political Advisor of Democratic Women of DuPage County

Democratic State Central Committeewoman

Two time Elector in the Electoral College

Delegate to 5 National Democratic Conventions

Without the aid of computer databases, web pages, emails, instant messaging, and cell phones, Tinker actively recruited and nurtured a community of Democratic volunteers in a township and county where they were historically a demographic minority. Despite the underrepresentation of Democrats in DuPage County, the importance of this voting block to electing statewide candidates has been recognized for many years. While Tinker’s role in providing leadership toward generating votes and funding for statewide campaigns, her participation has always been graceful and without expectation of reciprocity. Among the unsung sagas of her career occurred during the 1968 Democratic convention when the DuPage Democrats played a pivotal role in getting convention delegates out of Chicago by enlisting teenagers to drive them to destinations outside of Illinois.

Through her involvement in Democratic politics, Kathryn “Tinker” Harvey has touched many lives and mentored many precinct committeemen and candidates. Whether she was communicating with an Illinois Senator or a visitor to a township meeting, she was first and foremost a Democratic role model, a trailblazer and pioneer for Democratic politics in DuPage County.

We will miss Tinker. Details of the memorial service and a more complete history will follow.

10 of the most controversial productivity tips that actually work

We’ve all heard what makes us more productive. To be more productive, get: Better sleep, better food, better work environment, etc. And I think these tips are amazing and a great focus to have. Heck, we even wrote about most of these and the science behind it here on the Buffer blog.

And yet, today, I thought of changing it up dramatically. It goes nicely with Tim Ferriss’ moto:

“To do the impossible, you need to ignore the popular.”

So with this article, I tried to really step aside from the popular and look for the counter-intuitive. Of course, it’s all backed by the latest and most reputable studies.

Let’s dig and find out some of the most controversial things you could do today to boost your creativity, happiness and productivity:

1.) Give up

Often, if you are anything like myself, we are in an endless quest for “feeling productive” and for “getting motivated” to do great work. Shoma Morita, a famous Japanese psychiatrist influenced by Zen Buddhism that this might be the absolute wrong way to think about it.

Most of our biggest achievements get done, even without being motivated or inspired, so hedescribes:

“Is it accurate to assume that we must ‘overcome’ fear to jump off the high dive at the pool, or increase our confidence before we ask someone out for a date?” he asks. “If it was, most of us would still be waiting to do these things.

So, instead of trying to get motivated, embrace your fear, the negativity and dreading of doing the next task ahead. Tell yourself “Yes, I don’t feel great right now to work on this.”

Then, start doing it anyway, without trying to change your emotions.

2.) Procrastinate (with structure)

For a long time, the productivity space has taught us to focus on your MIT (“Most Important Task”) when you start your day. And yet, seeing the MIT at the top of your list, makes you want to do anything, but that task.

The key is, to give in to the urge of not doing that task, writes Walter Chen. Instead, do some of those easier tasks on your list, that don’t feel that important and are easier to tackle:

“The mental trick is to regard other tasks as more important in order to make the Very Important Task an easier choice.”

In doing so, and moving the original MIT down the list, you are now able to complete it much more easily, as you don’t dread it anymore. In his famous essay on structured procrastination Stanford Professor John Perry writes this:

This program is about training the next generation of organizers, and giving folks the tools they need to be effective leaders.

Spring Fellows will help grow the local OFA chapters and continue to fight for the agenda Americans voted for in 2012. You'll be on the front lines of our issue advocacy -- working on pressing issues like health care reform, climate change, comprehensive immigration reform, LGBT rights, women's rights, gun violence prevention, and strengthening the middle class.

This is a unique opportunity to pick up top-notch organizing skills, and make invaluable personal and professional connections.

The program runs from early February through April, and the deadline to apply is Sunday, January 12th.

Get started on an application now -- or encourage a friend to apply to be a Spring Fellow:

Contributions or gifts to Organizing for Action are not tax deductible.

This email was sent to: jmlindy422.robinandabby@blogger.com. If that is not your preferred email address, you can update your information here. We believe that emails are a vital way to stay in direct contact with supporters. Click here if you'd like to unsubscribe from these messages.Organizing for Action, P.O. Box 66732 Washington, D.C. 20035

Sunday, December 8, 2013

16. Ask new questions

All thoughts are questions or answers to questions. If you disagreed with me, it’s because your mind asked is he right or wrong? Most people ask questions like, “What’s wrong with me?” Or “Why can’t I do this?” If you ask questions like that, your brain will find an answer. Instead, ask yourself questions like, “What is good about this situation?” “How can I make this work?” The questions you ask yourself shape your experience of life.

17. Schedule confidence

Tony Robbins says “If you talk about it, it’s a dream, if you envision it, it’s possible, but if you schedule it, it’s real.” Whatever you want to get done in your life, whatever challenges you want to overcome put it in a calendar and schedule it.

18. Be still

In his research, Dr. Andrew Newberg found that brain scans of meditating Buddhists had greater activity in the parts of the brain associated with focus and awareness than those that do not engage in some sort of meditation. For 10 minutes a day, sit in silence without distractions and just be with your thoughts. This will improve your ability to focus on finding solutions to challenges and creating the life you want to live — as opposed to being at the mercy of circumstances.

19. Get something done

Who doesn’t love getting results? If you want to figure out an answer to a challenge, take action and accomplish something. No matter how small, set a task related to your challenge and finish it to completion.

20. Make your desired actions automatic

The key to mastering self-control and willpower in the face of a challenge is learning how to build positive habits. Keep practicing a desired action for at least 30 days to make your new habit automatic and something you no longer have to think about. Practice building one desired habit a month to help you feel more accomplished and in control of your life.

In the comments below, I would love to hear other strategies that have worked for you to overcome life difficulties. If you have something you are struggling with, please share it so together we can figure out how to get to the other side of that wall.

Akshay Nanavati is a Marine Corps veteran of the war in Iraq turned adventurer and success consultant. Today, he helps people build an unstoppable mindset and grow a business online so that they too can live their dream lifestyle. Download the free Life Mastery Blueprint to learn how to use principles of psychology to achieve mastery over your most valuable asset, your mind.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

When you display the No Farms No Food bumper sticker, you are helping raise awareness about the importance of saving America's farmland, keeping family farmers on the land, and securing a safe food supply for future generations.

Friday, December 6, 2013

"Tell
me the truth: when you were walking down the road [leaving the prison]
that last time didn't you hate them?" Clinton said he questioned
Mandela.

"He said briefly: 'I did. I am old enough to tell the
truth.' He said: 'I felt hatred and fear but I said to myself, if you
hate them when you get in that car you will still be their prisoner. I
wanted to be free and so I let it go.' "

"He said: 'People can
take everything from you. I lost my family, the chance to see my
children grow up, the best years of my life. They can take everything
except your mind and your heart. Those things I decided not to give
away. He looked at me and smiled and said: neither should you.' ”